4.1 Case study

Fishing method and species:

What is the discards problem?

All species are affected by a lack of qualitative data on catches and by-catch, with the by-catch consisting mostly of undersized fish. In the Lobster fisheries the by-catch cannot be used commercially as it is usually in poor condition owing to the long ‘soaking time’ (six hours) when the nets are set. The by-catch here is mainly invertebrates, along with Maerl and Posidonia leaves.